The Love Behind the Scrolls
by chatterbox2686
Summary: Ever wonder what happened after Xena and Gabrielle defeated Bacchus? Maybe they had some fireworks before Perdicus arrived back in their lives and whisked Gabrielle away. Here's a possibility of the love that took place behind the scrolls. I don't own any rights to Xena Warrior Princess or any of the characters it contains. Just a fan ;)
1. Chapter 1

****Takes place just after "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"****

"Thank the gods, I was beginning to think he was going to stick around!" Xena was obviously relieved that Joxer was taking his leave.

"I didn't want you to kill him," Gabrielle said jokingly.

"I'm sure he appreciates that," Xena replied sarcastically, as she mounted her trusty horse Argo. "Care for a ride?" She extended her arm down towards her friend.

"Guess it couldn't hurt." Gabrielle grabbed the warrior princess' strong arm and let her pull her up behind her on Argo's back. Truth is, she'd always hated riding horses, but she couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to be close to Xena. It was as if being a Bacchae and turning Xena had changed everything in her mind. "Where to now Xena?" Her arms were wrapped around the warrior's strong abs and she couldn't help but look at her neck, where she'd just bitten her only an hour before.

"Oh, I don't know, east maybe. I haven't really thought about it." Xena's mind was also reflecting on what had just happened. She'd heard stories of how sexual a Bacchae bite could be, but she didn't expect this; as much as she hated to admit it, she'd enjoyed it. What's worse is that she felt that she only enjoyed it because Gabrielle was the one who transformed her; she began to worry that she might be falling for the young girl whom she considered her closest friend. "It's getting late, we should probably set up camp for the night."

"Sounds good to me, I'm getting hungry too. Maybe we can catch some fish?" Gabrielle nodded to a stream nearby.

"Fish sounds great, as long as you're cooking."

"I'd rather eat my cooking any day," Gabrielle joked as she hopped off of Argo.

"Well, I'm a better cook than Joxer at least. Besides, I do the hunting." Xena began setting Argo up for the night as Gabrielle began to set up camp.

"Should we start a fire before you fish?"

"Ah, yet another one of my many skills. Who needs to cook anyway?" Xena joked as she started up a fire for the young bard. "I'm off to catch some fish." She stripped off her armor and boots and waded into the stream, in just her leather slit, finally giving her mind a break and solely focusing on fishing.

"Catch a ten pounder Xena, I'm starving!" Gabrielle said looking up; she couldn't believe how beautiful Xena looked while she fished. She was sure she'd noticed before, but she couldn't help but stare on this night. She felt so foolish for admiring her best friend in such a way. She knew that even if they did have a connection earlier, nothing would come of it. This was Xena, the warrior princess, she would never accept a farm girl from Potedia as anything more than her trusted companion.

It wasn't long before Xena was walking up with her triumphant smile, ensuring that there was more than enough for them to eat. "Dinner as promised."

Gabrielle looked up at the dripping wet warrior princess who proudly held the fish out in front of her. She felt herself fall short of breath and hoped Xena didn't notice. "It's about time." How she managed to pop those words out, she'd never know.

"All good things are worth the wait." Gabrielle felt that Xena's words had some hidden meaning behind them, or was it just wishful thinking? She shook the thought out of her mind and began to cook the fish.

Xena dried herself off and took a seat close to the fire where she could steal glances at the beautiful young woman cooking her dinner. She desperately wanted to talk about what had happened that day but didn't quite know how. She didn't want to just blurt out the connection they experienced, for fear of looking like the furies had taken over her mind. Just as she was about to ask how Gabrielle was holding up, she was cut off by the bard herself. "I'm sorry about today, Xena."

Slightly startled by the apology, Xena had to know, "Why are you apologizing?"

Gabrielle was serving the fish and wasn't looking at Xena. "I feel like I'm always getting in the way of things. If I hadn't gone dancing, I never would've gotten bitten and caused you and Joxer to chase me down."

"Gabrielle, if you hadn't gotten bitten, it would've taken us longer to find Bacchus' lair. Besides, only a Bacchae can kill him." Xena placed her hand under Gabrielle's chin, lifting it until their eyes were locked. "I'm glad that you were the one to transform me. It's always easier fighting with you on my side."

Gabrielle felt weak at the mere touch of her loyal friend, she wanted nothing more than to lean forward and plant a passionate kiss on those soft succulent lips that always seemed to let the right words escape. "Xena, at the risk of sounding like I've lost my mind, there's something I need to know."

Xena could feel her heart pound a little louder. She became afraid that she may have made her friend uncomfortable, or inappropriately hinted at her true feelings. She pulled her hand back and began to pick at her fish.

Gabrielle, feeling less courageous without Xena's touch, suddenly felt more uncomfortable than she had ever felt before. She spoke timidly, "Xena, we've been through a lot over the course of our time together." 'Stay strong,' Gabrielle thought to herself. "Becoming a Bacchae helped me see things in a totally different light, does that make sense?"

"Yes. I mean, different creatures experience things differently. I can honestly say that being a Bacchae felt completely different to me." She could see that the bard was nervous, and hoped that it was for the same reason she was.

"It's just that, when I bit you, I felt your essence, your life force. I just felt so close to you." Her heart was pounding so loud it was all she could hear; she began to worry she'd said too much.

Xena turned to face the young bard and took those soft, strong hands into her own. "I felt the same way, Gabrielle, I've heard that being turned into a Bacchae is very sexual; I just never thought it was true."

Suddenly looking conflicted, Gabrielle inquired, "Why didn't you tell me Xena?"

"Tell you what?"

"About the Bacchae? About what I would be feeling now?"

The warrior moved closer to her friend. "I didn't know this would happen, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. We're best friends, we're supposed to be close right?"

"I suppose you're right," Gabrielle said, slowly pulling her hands away, assuming Xena was saying she didn't want her as anything more than just a friend.

Fearing she was going to lose her chance, Xena scrambled to hold her friend again. She quickly reached out and softly cradled her friend's face in her hands and corrected herself, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean it like, Xena?" Gabrielle's voice cracked, and her eyes allowed two tears to escape their grasp. She was overcome with emotion and just wanted to know exactly what Xena was thinking.

Xena gently wiped the tears away with her thumbs. She looked at the beautiful woman she held in her hands and felt an incredible amount of love surge through every muscle in her body. "Like this." The words barely left her lips before she melded them into the quivering lips of the bard, who quickly and passionately returned the affection.

A noise in the distance thrust the warrior princess to her feet. "Who's there?" She grabbed her chakram from her bedroll and walked into the woods. Gabrielle wiped her lips with the back of her hand, tussled her long, strawberry blonde hair and got up.

Xena walked back towards the camp, "Must've been a rabbit."

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows, clearly irritated by the interruption, "At least it's not trouble...I'm going to lay down; feeling tired."

Suddenly realizing the moment was lost when her protective instincts took over, she replied, "It is getting late, we should probably call it a night." The two lay down in their separate bedrolls, both analyzing what had just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

Xena laid on her back, as usual with her eyes closed. Next thing she knew, she was being straddled and her arms were being pinned over her head. Just as she was about to fight off her attacker, she realized it was Gabrielle; she was relieved, and extremely turned on. "What are you..."

"Shh!" Gabrielle pressed her fingers against Xena's lips, stopping all sound. She leaned down and replaced her fingers with her mouth, causing Xena to breathe heavily. After releasing the arms struggling beneath her, she moved on to kissing the warrior's soft neck, while sliding her muscular leg between the two tense legs of the warrior.

"Gabrielle," Xena whispered, craving the weight of the girl on top of her. Both of them were breathing heavily, she slid her calloused hand slowly under the back of Gabrielle's green top.

A crack of thunder ripped the warrior out of her fantasy. 'Just a dream,' she thought to herself. Sighing in disappointment, she looked up to the sky and recognized the rain clouds soaring overhead. "Gabrielle," she shook her to wake her, "we need to find shelter, it's going to storm."

"Wha?" She was still half asleep.

"Let's go." Just then the flood gates of the heavens broke open and rain began to pour down. "Hurry! Before the bedrolls get drenched and muddy!" The two women scrambled to pick up all of their camp. Once everything was loaded up, Xena jumped onto Argo and pulled up her soaking wet companion; she marveled at how good she looked even in these conditions. They took off to find the closest shelter to get warm.

Xena couldn't help but notice how tightly Gabrielle was squeezing her. She put a reassuring hand over the top of the bard's, who then leaned her entire body into the warrior's back and nestled her head into her strong shoulder. The strong warrior felt a little loss of concentration, her young friend felt so good against her.

It was still pitch black outside, probably only an hour or two since they first went to sleep. Distracted not only by the girl clinging to her, but also the dream she'd just had and the rain that had interrupted it, Xena was finding it hard to focus on finding a shelter. Just when she thought they'd have to give up and build their own, she saw something. "Up ahead, there's a cave."

Gabrielle nodded in approval, and within minutes they were in the cave, dismounting a soaking wet Argo. "I'm going to start a fire, we need to get warm," Xena started looking for some wood. Gabrielle was shivering and pulling the bedrolls out of their packs.

"X-x-xena t-these are s-soaked."

"Lay them out and hopefully they'll dry faster with the fire." Xena said, successfully building a strong fire. "You need to get warm. Let me see if my blanket stayed a little dry, it was at the bottom of the saddle bag."

Gabrielle sat on a rock in front of the fire as Xena pulled her blanket from the saddle bag; it was surprisingly dry. She walked up behind the bard and bent down to envelop her in the blanket. Gabrielle grabbed Xena's hands as they reached in front of her, "What about you Xena?"

"Don't worry about me." Xena said, pulling back her hands and wringing out her long black hair. She then made her way over to the fire in an attempt to get warmed up. She felt a little awkward about the dream she had and didn't want to assume anything would happen since she messed up earlier in the night. "We should really get some sleep, the sun will probably be up in the next few hours." She sprawled out on her back on the bare ground, the bedrolls were still too damp and cold to lay on. "Good night."

"Night." Gabrielle was still sitting up, staring into the fire. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss she'd shared with Xena earlier. She had no idea what it meant, but she knew that she enjoyed it, probably more than she should have. She began to wonder where it might have gone if that rabbit hadn't interrupted them.

Xena, who fell asleep in record time, curled up into a ball. 'She's got to be freezing,' Gabrielle thought to herself, 'she never sleeps like that.' She stood up and walked over to where Xena was laying. She quietly laid down behind her and wrapped her arm, along with the blanket, around her.

The movement woke Xena, "What are you doing?"

"You're cold, Xena, you need to warm up."

"Thank you," Xena gratefully replied, holding Gabrielle's arm tightly. Gabrielle smiled and closed her eyes, happy to be so close to her friend.

Morning came quickly, but the rain still poured down. Xena awoke first, as usual, and Gabrielle was still holding her tight. She smiled and attempted to roll over, but the young girl woke up. "Xena? What's wrong?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Nothing, just need to relieve myself."

"Oh, ok. Rain stopped?"

Xena stood up and looked out of the cave entrance, "It's still pouring out there, doesn't look like it'll let up anytime soon. We should probably stay in here, we won't even be able to see a foot in front of us if we go out there."

"Then I'm going back to sleep," Gabrielle rolled over.

Xena smirked at her beautiful counterpart, she wondered if she may get to experience her dream in reality sometime, she would really enjoy that. She wandered into the corner of the cave to relieve herself, never letting the young woman leave her sight; never know who could be lurking out in the rain. She made her way back to the fire and admired Gabrielle laying peacefully in front of it, as if she was still cuddled up in front of her.

The warrior decided that she might as well lay back down, the morning was still young and there was nothing else she could really do. Was that the real reason, she wondered, or did the thought of curling up with Gabrielle have something to do with it.

Dismissing the thought, she slid under the covers behind Gabrielle, pressing up against her entire back side. She propped herself up on her left elbow and looked down lovingly, sliding her right arm down the outer arm of her bard, interlocking fingers with her as she reached her hand. "Thought you were getting up," the sound came without movement, apparently she wasn't really sleeping.

"Thought you were going back to sleep," Xena teased with her flirty smile shining down on Gabrielle, who had turned her head to look at her intruder.

"Well _someone_ isn't letting me," Gabrielle's eyes were glued to the crystal blue eyes staring lovingly down at her.

"Oh, is that how it is?" Xena asked playfully.

"Yeah," Gabrielle said sarcastically, a devious smile spreading across her face.

"Oh really," Xena began to tickle her friend as an act of revenge.

Laughing hysterically, Gabrielle squealed out, "Stop it, Xena! No fair!" She was rolling around, trying to free herself from the warrior's grasp.

"Why don't you make me?" Xena taunted. After another minute of struggling, Gabrielle managed to push Xena onto her back. With the warrior stunned, she quickly jumped up, straddled the woman and pinned her hands over her head.

Xena could feel the shocked and excited smile she had spreading across her face. She wished she could tone it down but she was too aroused by the whole situation. "I win," Gabrielle said defiantly.

"I suppose you do, now what?" she asked suggestively, raising her eyebrow.

"I collect my winnings," Gabrielle said, leaning down and kissing her opponent vigorously.

Xena's heart felt as though it would beat right out of her chest, she'd never been so fired up. She was immobilized; everything was in the bard's control. She could feel fire under her skin as the bard slowly kissed her strong jaw line and migrated to her soft, warm neck. Xena exhaled deeply. The feeling of that strawberry blonde hair surrounding her face and slowly grazing her skin with the movements of the bard was almost too much, it caused her back to arch.

Gabrielle loved having the warrior princess laying helplessly below her and she knew that she was arousing her. She lowered her body onto the helpless warrior and gently slid one leg between the strong, sculpted legs of the fierce woman. She propped herself onto her left forearm and ran her right hand down the warrior's arm, freeing the powerful woman to do as she pleased.

Xena's hands began to roam all over the young bard, unable to figure out where they should be.

Gabrielle couldn't believe this was happening, she loved being the object of Xena's desire. The feeling of those strong hands appreciating every inch of her body was sheer ecstasy.

A loud exhale left the bard's breast when Xena's roaming hands grabbed her muscular glutes. Xena, liking that reaction, then pulled the bard into her, using her glutes as a handle. "Xena," Gabrielle breathed loudly into the warrior's ear. This proved to be too much for the warrior, who then shoved Gabrielle by her shoulder and rolled her onto her back. The warrior rolled with her, shoving her leg strongly between the warm legs of the bard. It was Xena's turn.

Xena kissed the girl passionately for a minute, then lead a trail of passionate kisses down her neck, along her collar bone and straight down her chest. Stopping midway, Xena traced the cleavage line of her captive with her tongue. The bard shot her leg up into the warrior's groin, causing a slight moan to come from the warrior's mouth. As her counter attack, she began to untie the bard's top, using only her teeth. The top fell open, bearing the bard's plump breasts. She slid her hand from the bard's thigh, up her stomach, and came to a stop grasping one breast as she sucked on the other. Gabrielle moaned and pulled the entire weight of the warrior down onto her. She grabbed the hair at the back of her warrior's head and pulled her up to devour her with kisses, while simultaneously gyrating her pelvis against Xena's. Xena returned the movements as Gabrielle began to pull off her leathers. The warrior, in turn, slid the skirt off the young bard.

The two lay intertwined, their bare breasts pressed up against each other, with only their underwear keeping them from being completely exposed to one another. Still locked on the lips of the bard, the warrior slightly lifted her hips and ran her hand down the side of the beautiful woman below. She gently ran her fingers under the girl's waistband, causing her to gasp with pleasure.

Gabrielle, with both hands, grabbed a hold of the warrior's butt, coaxing a smile out of the warrior princess. Xena, looking defiantly down into the eyes of her not-so-innocent counterpart, slid her hand between her legs and began stroking the girl outside her under garments. Gabrielle, only seeming slightly shocked, slid her hands under the warrior's underwear, grabbing her butt in full force. Xena, even more turned on now, began running her fingers under the edges of Gabrielle's unders.

The young bard, tiring from all of the beating around the bush, slid both hands around the warrior's waist and down the front of her underwear. Xena was completely shocked, but too aroused to show it, she gently slid off the last barrier the bard had protecting her. Gabrielle followed suit, leaving nothing between them. They both let their fingers do the walking and sunk into each other's inner core.

Joining efforts between their fingers and gyrating, the two began to breath heavier and heavier, until they finally lost control. Letting out a final gasp, Xena exhaled heavily and slid off the bard and onto her side; her arms still clutching the loyal friend alongside her.

Gabrielle, catching her breath, wiped her sweaty bangs from her forehead and turned to face the woman who had just changed her life. "I love you, Xena," she said, still slightly out of breath.

"I love you too, Gabrielle," Xena said, looking lovingly into her friend's eyes.

The two lay intertwined for the better part of an hour before deciding it was probably time for them to get up. The rain had finally let up and they sure could use the fresh air.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabrielle began to pack up the blanket and bedrolls, which were now dry. "Hey Xena?"

Never tiring from hearing the sweet sound of the young bard's voice, Xena answered, "Yes?"

"So I was thinking, since we're not really in a hurry to go anywhere specific, do you think you can spar with me a little bit?"

Xena stopped loading Argo's saddle bags and looked over the saddle at the woman, "Spar?"

"Yeah, you know, so I can get a little better with my staff." Gabrielle was being hopeful. Truth is the warrior had never sparred with her, but she was the one who could teach her the most; besides, she loved watching the woman in action.

"Uh, if we have time for it sure." Xena wasn't sure what had inspired this idea, but she thought it could be some fun.

"Ok, cool. Everything is packed over here, so I'm ready when you are."

Xena hopped onto Argo, her trusty stead, and sent a flirty smile down to Gabrielle. "A ride for the beautiful lady?"

Gabrielle looked at Xena, trying to muster up a smart aleck smile, which turned out to just look like she was blushing. "If you insist." She hopped up behind Xena, scooting closer than ever before and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"I'd ask if you're on, but I'm pretty sure I can tell on my own," Xena said with a chuckle. She grabbed one of Gabrielle's hands and brought it to her lips for a soft kiss before heading off. Gabrielle returned the affection with a gentle kiss on the warrior's shoulder.

The two were riding in a peaceful silence, when they heard a woman shrieking for help in the distance. Gabrielle abruptly lifted her head, "Can you see where she is?"

"Over there!" Xena exclaimed, speeding Argo into a quick trot in the direction of the woman.

Upon meeting up with the woman, Lady Suryllus, the duo found out that her only daughter had been kidnapped by the evil warlord Krellus. Apparently she is a part of some royal family, and Krellus decided to kidnap her daughter, Cora, for a ransom. "Don't worry, they can't have gotten too far, I'll find them. Gabrielle will stay here with you in case they come back."

"Xena!"

"I need you here Gabrielle."

"But I would be more help to you than I would be just sitting here. I'm an Amazon Princess! I know how to fight!"

The lady, just wanting all the help she could get, agreed with Gabrielle, "The more people there are to fight the better I'll feel. Besides, my home is only a little ways from here, I should wait there in case they try and contact me."

Xena, realizing there was no use in fighting, agreed. The two women took off in the direction that Lady Sullyrus told them the men were headed, while the woman headed back to her home to wait.

"Why do you always do that?" Gabrielle asked defensively.

"Do what?" Xena had that annoyed tone in her voice.

"Leave me behind when you know I can fight?"

"I just think that leaving a bard with a distressed loved one seems to keep them calm and stop them from doing something stupid."

"Is that all you see when you look at me, Xena? A bard?"

Realizing she'd offended her friend, Xena softened her voice, "Of course not, you know that."

"I know you have 'many skills'," she said sarcastically," but I'm not just a bard, I'm also an Amazon princess, something you seem to like to forget."

"It's not that I forget, it's just that I like to know that you are safe, I hate having to worry about you."

"It's not that I don't appreciate that Xena, I just want to make sure you know I'm not a little girl anymore and I can hold my own."

Admitting defeat against someone much better with words than herself, Xena replied sweetly, "I know Gabrielle, I just love you, that's all. I don't want something to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do."

Gabrielle, knowing that the warrior princess was only being protective, sighed, "I know Xena, but that goes both ways you know? I trust you with my life, I just wish you trusted me with yours."

"You know I do, it's just a little harder you know, after all I'm the Warrior Princess. I don't need everyone thinking I need a bard-turned Amazon Princess protecting me." Xena teased.

Gabrielle playfully backhanded Xena in the shoulder, "Just because you know that I can protect you!"

"Look, up ahead, I think I see smoke!" Xena slowed up and they both dismounted the horse, so as to keep their presence unknown. "We're going to have to be very quiet if we want to get the drop on them."

"Ok." Gabrielle was practically in her fighting stance already.

"You're going to have to stay behind me. And no arguments this time." Xena looked back demandingly. Gabrielle nodded in agreement and the two took off towards the smoke.


	4. Chapter 4

Before long, they could hear Krellus and his thugs discussing the best way to get their ransom for the young Cora.

Gabrielle whispered, "I don't see her, Xena."

"Oh, she's there alright," Xena whispered back confidently.

"But where?"

Xena searched the campsite with her trained eyes and suddenly pointed to a smaller tent. "There!"

"How do you know?"

"I just do, must be some skill I acquired as a warlord."

"Who knew that would come in handy huh?" Gabrielle let out a little giggle, causing the warrior to smile.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. What's the plan?"

Xena stood up and began walking into the campsite, Gabrielle scrambled behind her to catch up. Xena walked up behind the men at the campfire, "Well hello boys."

All of the bandits whirled around with shocked expressions, "Its Xena!"

"It's me alright," Xena answered, giving her taunting laugh. "Now, where's the girl?"

"Seems she's right behind you," one of the men blurted out, motioning towards Gabrielle and laughing.

"Oh come on, you know who I'm talking about. The Suryllus girl, must be worth quite a bit for you fine gentlemen to go through all the trouble of getting her."

Krellus walked up with a defiant smile on his face. "Well of course, Xena. I wouldn't take such a challenge on unless it was actually going to be worth all of the trouble."

Xena unsheathed her sword and swung it end over end, "You'll never change, Krellus."

Krellus picked up a sword from a nearby rock and began walking towards Gabrielle. "And yet, I see you've changed. Would this innocent looking child have something to do with that?" He asked, pointing his sword at Gabrielle.

Xena smacked his sword away with hers and stepped in between the two. "Oh she's not a child, she's my friend."

Krellus began to laugh, "Xena, the mighty warrior princess, actually has a friend? I don't believe it!"

"Well believe it," Gabrielle chimed in, lifting her staff into her fighting stance.

"Oh and she even has her own little staff? How cute," he taunted. "Don't let them get the girl!" He ordered his men. Xena took a step forward and the fight was on.

Krellus stayed back to see what kind of damage the five measly men he had would do against these women. The two strongest men naturally went for Xena, as the other three thought they would overtake Gabrielle in no time. The mighty Amazon princess dealt out a beating to remember with her trusty staff, bravely taking on all three men. Xena, easily handling the two men attacking her, managed to steal a glance at the young girl and admire her drive.

Gabrielle, knocking the last man defenseless, looked at the warrior princess with an accomplished smile. Her smile quickly turned into concern when she saw Krellus crack his whip around Xena's throat, leaving her scratching to get free. With a crooked smile, he yanked back as hard as he could, launching her onto her back, choking her.

"LET HER GO!" Gabrielle screamed.

"Or else what?"

She charged at him, picking up Xena's sword on the way.

"What are you going to do, kill me?" He taunted.

She continued charging, saying nothing. In one fluid motion, she jumped and cut the whip, wielding the sword in her left hand, and cracked him in the side with her staff, which she wielded in her right hand. Xena gasped for air as she unwound the whip from her neck. Krellus was holding his side, laughing, "I see the little girl has a few tricks up her sleeve after all, eh, Xena?"

Holding her throat, Xena replied, "You have no idea." Yet, in the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder where Gabrielle had learned how to do that.

He seemed to have forgotten that Gabrielle was still standing beside him. Seeing that he was distracted with Xena, she cracked him in the back of his head with her staff, knocking him to the ground unconscious. She then quickly ran to the aid of her fallen warrior, helping her to her feet.

"I owe you one," she said with a weak smile.

"Xena, you don't owe me anything, I'm just glad I was here." She was trying to smile, but Xena could see the utter look of concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Gabrielle, really I am," she was being as reassuring as she could. "We should tie him up, before he wakes up," she nodded towards the unconscious warlord.

"If you're sure you're fine," Gabrielle said hesitantly.

"I'm sure."

Gabrielle slowly released the warrior from her nurturing grip and began to hog tie Krellus. "Is this good enough?"

Xena was making her way towards Argo so she had something to tie their prisoner to. "Looks good to me, now go get the girl so we can get out of here."

Gabrielle nodded and turned quickly back towards the camp in search of the girl. She aimed for the small tent Xena had pointed out, faithful that the girl would be there. She cautiously opened the entrance to the tent with her staff at the ready. When she looked in, it was empty, aside from a cot and a couple baskets. "Cora?" She looked in all of the baskets, but didn't find her. She quickly took off to search the other two tents.

Meanwhile, Xena had successfully tied Krellus to Argo and was applying some healing ointment to her neck. She heard some scrambling behind her, and stood up a little straighter. The men had regained their footing and were ready for another attack. One of the men took a swing while Xena's back was turned, thinking he'd get the best of her. Unfortunately for him, she ducked and spun around, taking hold of his arm and throwing him to the ground. "Nice try," she said as she faced the other men. "Who's next?"

The men exchanged glances and all charged her at once. She dealt blow after blow and kick after kick until the men lay in a crumpled heap on the ground before her. "Thanks for the workout boys," she said stepping over them.

Gabrielle had searched all the tents and come up with nothing. As she made her way back to tell Xena the bad news, she noticed the pile of men and couldn't help but laugh. "Decided to have some fun while I was gone I see."

"Yeah well, I got bored. Where's the girl?" She looked behind Gabrielle.

"She's not here Xena. I checked all of the tents and all around the campsite, there's no sign of her."

"Huh," Xena paused to think, "I guess we'll have to wait for sleeping beauty to get up and tell us what they did with her."

"I guess so," Gabrielle said as she approached her. "Are you ok?" She said, gently tilting her chin up to see the sore on the warrior's neck, which was already developing a dark purple bruise.

"I'm fine Gabrielle," she said softly, "I already put some healing ointment on it. Guess it really was a good thing you came." She took Gabrielle's hand from her chin and looked her in the eyes. "By the way, that was some serious skill you whipped out, where'd that come from?"

Gabrielle smiled, "I guess from watching you. I thought you were going to die if I didn't do anything, and that's all I could think about. I didn't really know what I was going to do until I did it."

"Well," Xena said raising an eyebrow, "it was pretty hot." A cute smile spread across her face.

"Oh yeah?" Gabrielle said with a quick lift of her eyebrows.

Just then, a groan came from behind them. "Well good morning, so nice of you to join us again, Krellus."

"Ugh, my head! What hit me?" Gabrielle smiled and tilted her staff out to her side. "You did this?!" he asked, astonished. "Well, I must admit I'm slightly impressed."

"You should be, she's full of surprises," Xena said, "now Krellus, what did you do with the girl?"

"Well Xena, I don't see why I should give you the details."

"Oh, I don't really think you're in any position not to tell me."

"I beg to differ. You see, Xena, I am in control here."

"How do you figure?"

"I have the information you need to save the girl. If I don't give you that information, you're not going to find her."

"I'm sure I'll find her, one way or another," she growled, "but if you don't cooperate, I don't think you'll make it." She pulled her sword and aimed it at his throat, "So...what'll it be?"

"Well, I guess I'll just cooperate then," he said in a condescending manner, "off towards the East Mountains."

"There, that wasn't so hard was it?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not at all," he said, hiding a smirk from them.


	5. Chapter 5

Xena grabbed Argo's reins and they began to head off in the direction of the East Mountains. "Are you going to leave me like this?" Krellus asked, "It's very uncomfortable." He was still tied at the hands and feet, lying on his stomach across Argo's saddle.

"Oh is it?" Xena said sarcastically, "I like it that way. Then you won't get any crazy ideas."

Krellus sighed, deciding it wasn't worth the fight. "Xena," Gabrielle said quietly, "it's probably going to be a long journey, are you sure he'll be ok like that?"

"Oh he'll be just fine," she said back softly.

The sun had worked its way halfway down the western sky, with no sign of Cora. "Let's stop here for a break," Xena said, tying Argo to a tree.

"Great, can you let me down now?" Krellus asked.

"Not just yet," Xena said as she grabbed Gabrielle's arm and led her a few feet away.

Gabrielle glanced at Krellus then back, "Xena?"

"Sh!" Xena covered her mouth, "listen to me real quick, Gabrielle. Have you seen any sign of the Suryllus girl?"

Gabrielle peeled Xena's hand from her mouth; with a hesitant voice she replied, "Now that you mention it, no I haven't."

"I think he's leading us down the wrong path to buy himself time to get that ransom."

"Oh no, we've already traveled half the day to get to where we are now."

"I guess we'll just have to force the answer out of him." A twig snapped a few feet away; they both turned to see what was coming. "It's a party now," she said, looking at five more of Krellus' thugs charging in their direction.

"Sure looks that way," Gabrielle swung her staff into her fighting position.

Three of the men attacked Xena, knowing that she would be much harder to take down than Gabrielle. The first man charged towards the warrior princess, rapidly swinging his mace off to his side. He took a shot at her, only to have her sword catch the chain, allowing her to rip the weapon out of his hand and toss it behind her. He stood there slightly shocked, enabling her to give a swift roundhouse kick to the side of his head knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

Gabrielle was managing well on her own, deflecting the attacks coming from the swords of the two men she fought off. She managed to catch a break, and swept the feet out from under one man as he paused for a moment to get a better grip on his sword. She quickly turned her attention to the other man standing, barely deflecting an overhead blow, holding her staff horizontally overhead. She threw the man back as hard as she could, then twirled her staff and jabbed him in the abdomen, dropping him to the ground. The first man she'd taken to the ground was back on his feet behind her and wacked her in the back of the head with the butt of his sword, knocking her unconscious. He raised his sword overhead, preparing to plunge it into the motionless woman below.

"NO!" Xena screamed, seeing the unfortunate blow. She quickly pulled her chakram off her belt, still fending off her attackers, and threw it at the man, splitting his sword in two. The man, bewildered, stumbled backwards, looking at his useless sword on the ground. He shot a terrified look at the warrior and took off in the opposite direction, tripping over himself in his haste.

Tired of the men she was fighting, Xena made one swift swing across the center mass of them both, delivering a fatal blow to both their abdomens. She then quickly re-sheathed her sword, caught her chakram, hooked it to her belt and ran to Gabrielle's side to see if she was ok.

She dropped to her knees beside the young bard, "Gabrielle?" She frantically rolled the woman onto her back, then checked for a pulse. As she scrambled to find a pulse, the beautiful blue eyes fluttered open, "Oh thank the gods."

"Oh," Gabrielle winced, "my head."

"You ok?" Xena asked hopefully.

"I - I think so?" Gabrielle said, slowly sitting up. She rubbed a fast growing knot on the back of her head, "What just happened?"

"You got a good blow to the back of the head, here, let me see," she gently tilted the girl's head to get a better look. Moving some hair out of the way to see the injury more clearly, she commented, "Well it didn't break the skin, but you've got a nice bump. You'll be fine, just in quite a bit of pain for a little bit."

"Ok, I'm good then."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure Xena, let's go get the real information out of Krellus."

She helped Gabrielle to her feet and they made their way back to Argo. Xena was slightly surprised to see that he was right where they'd left him; she'd thought that the men that attacked them were a diversion to free him.

Xena left Gabrielle leaning against a tree and, in her rage, pulled Krellus down from Argo, violently hurling him to the ground below, landing him so hard that his hands and feet unbound. A gasp of air left his chest; he tried to regain his breath as she pulled him up to his knees by his collar. "Where is she?" She snarled angrily.

Gasping for air, Krellus replied, "Where is...who?"

"I'm done dealing with your little games Krellus, I know this isn't the direction you sent your men with Cora."

"Oh...is that..." he coughed, "so?"

"I'm not stupid Krellus, and if you're not stupid you'll tell me where your men took her."

He had mostly caught his breath at this point, "Or else what?"

Xena shot an angry look down at him and, without so much as a word, she used her expert knowledge in pressure points to put the pinch on him. He began to struggle for air, turning red, and began to gurgle on his own spit. She raised an eyebrow, somewhat sadistically and said, "I've just cut off the flow of blood to your brain. Now tell me what I want to know, Krellus, or you'll be dead in seconds!"

His eyes widened and he strained to get any words out, "Ok...ok...in a cave, about a day's travel from here...by her house..."

"Are you sure?"

"Y-y-yes," he said as blood started to trickle from his nose.

"Good," she said, jabbing him in the neck, disabling the pinch. He collapsed onto the ground, gulping for air. "Now," she said matter-of-factly, "You're going to take us there; no more tricks. Next time, you won't be so lucky." She slid her foot under his stomach and rolled him to his back, "Understand?"

Still trying to regain his breathing, he simply nodded. "Good," she said. She lifted him to his feet and tied a rope to restrain his hands, securing the other end onto Argo's saddle, "We're going to let you walk to give Argo a break. If you try to run, I'll let my chakram chase you down. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes," he said, angry he'd been defeated.


	6. Chapter 6

As day gave way to night, Gabrielle turned to Xena, "Are we going through the night? Or are we planning to stop and set up camp?"

Xena thought for a moment, then decided that stopping for the night would be more beneficial in the long run. "I suppose we'll stop here for the night. We can eat and get some rest, after all, tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"And what of me, Xena?" Krellus asked.

"What of you?"

"Are you going to keep me tied up?"

She turned to look at him, "Of course, I can't have you running off in the middle of the night now can I?"

"I give you my word, I won't go anywhere."

"What makes you think I'd take the word of any warlord, especially one who's already lied to me?"

Unable to come up with an answer quick enough, she answered herself, "I didn't think you'd have a good reason. So we'll just do things my way."

The trio traveled on for a little while longer before Xena found a place she thought would make an acceptable campsite for the night. She left Gabrielle to set up their bedrolls and get some food together while she untied Krellus from Argo's saddle. She sat him down at the base of a tree, and wrapped her rope around his mid-section and the tree trunk; she tied his feet back together when she was sure he was securely tied to the tree.

"Is all of this really necessary?" he asked, lifting his bound hands.

"Why yes, I believe it is." she smiled and turned to face Gabrielle. "How are you holding up?"

"I feel like the Amazon ceremonial drums are pounding through my head, but other than that I'm doing ok. How's your neck?"

Xena gently touched her neck, "It's a little sore, but that's to be expected."

Gabrielle nodded. She lifted up some fruit, cheese and bread, "Would you like something to eat?"

"Yes please." She raised her voice, "How 'bout you Krellus?" she asked over her shoulder.

"No, I'm fine."

"Suit yourself," she said, taking a handful of food from Gabrielle.

The women sat down and enjoyed a little meal, being sure not to fill up before bed. After finishing her portion, Xena grabbed some fire wood and made up a fire to keep them warm throughout the night. She leaned down and whispered into Gabrielle's ear, "Sleep on the far side of the fire tonight. If he somehow manages to free himself I don't want him getting the opportunity to hurt you."

Gabrielle whispered back, "But what about you?"

A little giggle escaped Xena's breast, "We both know that I'll be up and armed the second that he moves."

Gabrielle smiled and looked into the warrior's eyes, "Ok. Good night."

"Good night, Gabrielle." Xena walked over to the other side of the fire, near where she'd tied up her captive. "Don't get any bright ideas."

He just shook his head and tried to make himself as comfortable as possible. Xena waited until the fire began to die down and she was sure that both Gabrielle and Krellus had been taken into slumber before she lay down, weapons close at hand, and drifted off into a light sleep.

She awoke to the sound of a struggle. Her eyes shot open to see Krellus strangling Gabrielle with the rope, "Gabrielle!" she yelled as she tried to get up. It was only then that she realized she was tied to the very tree that she'd tied Krellus to the night before. In the faint light of the upcoming sun, she could see the fear in Gabrielle's eyes as her life slipped away. She struggled with the ropes, desperate to save her friend; but she was unsuccessful. She looked for her chakram, but it was too far for her to reach. Her attention snapped back to her friend just as the color drained from her face, and those big blue eyes fell closed. Krellus laughed and dropped her to the ground without a second thought. "You bastard!" Xena screamed, now wriggling like a trapped snake trying to get free from her restraints.

"Ouch, that really hurts," he gave her a devious smile and strode to where her sword lay. He bent down and grabbed it, admiring it in the light of the rising sun. "Nice sword. I'm sure it's been the death of many men over the years. Too bad it's going to be the death of you as well. But really Xena, it's been fun." He lunged forward and plunged the sword deep into her chest.

Xena gasped, jolting up into a sitting position, covered in sweat. She grabbed her chest, only to find there was no wound. 'A terrible nightmare!' she thought to herself as she looked over to the tree to see Krellus sleeping quietly, still tied as she'd left him. She then crawled over to Gabrielle, pulling the bed roll down to expose her face. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realized she was alive and sleeping peacefully. Assured that it was only a nightmare, she began to put her armor on and re-arm herself; the sun was starting to make its way over the eastern horizon and she knew they needed to get started soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Gabrielle awoke to find the campsite mostly packed up, Xena was nowhere to be found, but Krellus was still sleeping up against the tree. "Xena?" she asked in a sleepy voice. She heard someone walking up, and grabbed her staff, making her way to her feet.

"Relax Gabrielle, it's just me," Xena's voice chimed from behind her.

"What are you doing?" Gabrielle asked, trying to find where her voice was coming from.

"I did a little hunting, we're going to need a good meal before today's journey." She came out of the woods and smiled at the amazing sight of the young woman up and alive in front of her. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good surprisingly. How 'bout you Xena?"

She let a little smile creep onto her face, "Ok thanks." She rekindled the fire they had from the night before and pulled out the cook wear. "Would you mind?" she asked Gabrielle, holding out a rabbit.

"Not at all," she replied with a smile.

As Gabrielle cooked the rabbit, Xena rolled up the rest of camp, sure not to leave anything behind. She made her way over to Krellus and kicked his foot, "Rise and shine."

He opened his eyes, seemingly trying to figure out where he was. He grunted, "I wouldn't recommend sleeping like this to anyone, feels like I've been run over by a heard of centaurs."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said sarcastically as she began untying the rope that was confining him to the tree. She helped him to his feet and decided to tie the rope around his waist and attach it to herself.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused with her action.

"As long as you're tied to me, I'm not too worried. Don't you want a break from having your hands and feet bound?"

"That'd be great," he said relieved.

"Food's ready," Gabrielle interrupted.

"Alright, just one minute," she said, releasing Krellus as promised. She shifted her sword onto her belt and scooted her chakram more towards her front, convincing herself that this way he wouldn't be able to get a hold of any of her weapons.

They all sat down and enjoyed a feast of rabbit, bread and some soup that Gabrielle concocted with the remains of the critter. After they had finished, Xena licked her lips, "That was excellent, thank you."

"Thanks," Gabrielle smiled, always happy to get any form of compliment from the raven haired beauty.

"Well, we'd better get started, it's going to be a long day." Krellus stood up with her, knowing there was only about four feet of rope between them. Xena turned to face him, "if you try anything funny you're getting the same travel arrangements you got yesterday." He simply nodded.

As they started on their way, Xena grabbed her healing ointment from one of Argo's saddle bags and gently applied it to her neck. After she'd finished, she put it back where she'd found it and turned to Gabrielle, "How's your head?"

"It's much better today, thanks. Your neck is looking a little better today too, not as dark as it was before."

"That's good, this healing ointment normally speeds up the healing process, that's why I swear by it."

"Sounds like a good thing to have around, especially when there's someone like you around." She sent a playful smile in the warrior's direction.

"Gee thanks," Xena commented, smiling at the woman's fun-loving attitude.

As the sun began to make its way into the western sky, Xena turned to Krellus, "About how much further is this place?"

He looked up for the first time all day, "After the sun sets another two inches we should be there. The cave is only a few yards from where we got the girl. From what I understand, it's not far from her home either."

"How will I find this cave?"

"You can't miss it, it's the only mountain nearby. The entrance is on the northern face."

"Thank you, that's very useful," she faced back forward, "there's a village coming up soon, we'll take a break there."

"Sounds great," Gabrielle said, "My head is starting to hurt more, a break would probably help."

It didn't take long to reach the village and Gabrielle picked a tavern for them to rest and rejuvenate in. Xena unfastened the rope from her torso and tied it to the leg of the table, "I'll be right back."

"Xena, where are you going?" Gabrielle asked.

"I'm going to go buy a new whip," she said putting a reassuring hand on Gabrielle's shoulder, "I won't be long."

"Ok," Gabrielle tried to hide her worry about Xena leaving her alone with the warlord as she walked away.

"So," Krellus finally seemed to be living in the moment, "just you and me now."

"So I see."

"Why don't you tell me what it is you're doing with this mad woman? A young, innocent girl like you should be out farming or at home cooking, not fighting off warlords and their thugs."

"That's not the life for me," she said bluntly, "I'd much rather be with Xena."

"I'm sure you would," he said. Just as he was about to inquire more into Gabrielle, a large man grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to his feet. "What's the meaning of this?!"

The large man had a very deep, authoritative voice, "You're under arrest until you can be tried for your crimes, Krellus."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope," Xena said as she walked up, "you need to pay for your crimes. So, instead of me having to deal with you, you'll be tried by your peers."

"I'd rather take my chances with you. I thought you were once a ruthless warlord, why can you not challenge me as such? Let the best man win...or woman."

"I'm not that ruthless warlord anymore Krellus, this is the new Xena. Enjoy your time in the dungeon. Let's go Gabrielle."

"XENA! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" he yelled at them as he was dragged from the tavern.

A crooked smile formed on Xena's face at the empty threat, "So," she asked Gabrielle, "you ready to go? After all, we've got an innocent to find."

Gabrielle looked back at Krellus one last time, "I'm ready."

"Good." Xena walked over to Argo and untied her from her post. "How you doin' girl?" she asked running her hand down the horses snout. Argo whinnied and nodded her head. "Great," she said excitedly putting her left foot in the stirrup. As she swung her right leg over the saddle and situated herself, she looked down at Gabrielle, "If we ride it will take a lot less time."

Looking disappointed, Gabrielle reached up for Xena's hand, "You know I hate riding these things."

Xena smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up, "Oh I know."


	8. Chapter 8

The women made their way to the cave that Krellus had described, "Looks like he was telling the truth," Gabrielle said amazed.

"Uh huh, defeat will do that to you. We'll leave Argo here, there's no telling how many men are inside."

After dismounting and setting Argo up for the wait, the women quietly made their way to the mouth of the cave, weapons at the ready. Xena entered first, as was usual, and Gabrielle followed close behind. In the distance they could hear the voices of only a few men, but it would be hard to tell until they got closer. They made their way towards the light from the fires inside and saw that there were actually about ten men guarding the girl, who sat bound and gagged on a log next to the fire.

Xena silently pulled her chakram and whip from her belt, just as they were about to make their move, the girl caught a glimpse of them. "What are you looking at?" one of the men asked, noticing the wide-eyed expression on the girl's face.

"Mmmm..." Cora shook her head, trying to make them believe she didn't see anything.

One of the men turned in search of what she'd be looking at, "IT'S XENA!" he yelled.

"It's me alright," Xena said, "Are you going to give me the girl, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

One of the men looked around, "What are you waiting for? GET THEM!"

"Fine, have it your way," Xena said letting out her infamous war cry. She cracked her whip around the first three men and yanked them to the ground, then quickly threw her chakram towards the men charging her. After bouncing around the cave a few times, she caught her chakram, which had taken down all but two of the remaining men. Xena drew her sword and began to fend them off as Gabrielle bopped the three men wrapped in the whip on the head to disable them long enough to get the girl out. She unwound Xena's whip and ran for the girl.

One of the men managed to knock Xena's sword out of her hands, leaving her fighting with just her chakram and her bare hands. This didn't faze the warrior, as she sliced one man across his chest with her chakram then abruptly punched the other man in the face, knocking him on his back. Xena quickly regained her sword and pointed it at the man's throat, "I'll ask you again, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." The man got to his feet and ran the other direction.

Gabrielle had made her way to the girl and pulled the cloth from her mouth. "Who are you?" Cora asked.

"We're friends," Gabrielle said, "and we've been looking for you for a couple days now."

"Thank you for finding me, I was beginning to think I'd have to stay here in this cave with these men forever."

"Don't mention it," Xena said, "we should really get a move on; your mother must be beside herself with worry."

Gabrielle had just finished untying the last knot and threw the rope off to the side. Helping the young woman up, she asked, "Where is your house from here?"

"Not far," Cora replied as they walked out of the cave, "just over there, beyond those trees."

"Excellent," Xena said, let's go. The warrior grabbed her horse and the women made their way to Lady Suryllus' house, where she was still waiting.

"CORA!" they heard the lady yell as they walked up to the house.

"Mother!" Cora ran into her mother's arms.

"How can I ever repay you?" Lady Suryllus asked Xena.

"Just keep her safe from now on."

"Oh don't worry, I will be," Cora said, still enveloped in her mother's embrace.

"Well alright," Xena said and they said their goodbyes.

By the time the sun was setting, Xena had found a good place to set up camp. As Gabrielle laid out the bedrolls, the warrior princess started a fire. "You hungry at all?" Xena asked her.

"Actually no, I'm more tired than anything. Are you?"

"Surprisingly no."

Xena began to rub at her neck, realizing she needed to put more ointment on it. She went to her saddle bag and pulled it out, but Gabrielle took it from her. "Here, let me." she said softly.

"Alright," she conceded, sitting on a rock in front of her. "How's it look?"

"It's getting a weird green color, but it's closed up for the most part. Doesn't look as raw as it did earlier."

"That sounds like a good thing. Should be mostly better by tomorrow."

"That's a relief," Gabrielle said as she bent down to put the ointment on the wound. She gently rubbed it in, put the cap back on the ointment container and placed it on the ground. She leaned down and kissed the warrior on the left side of her neck just below the wound; she then swiveled her head to the right side of the warrior's neck and kissed her right above the wound.

Xena turned her head to the right and met her lips with Gabrielle's. Gabrielle slowly knelt down, so she was more level with her partner and the two continued sharing their intimacy for a while longer. Gabrielle backed away from the warrior, looking lovingly into her eyes as she stood up and wiped off her knees. Xena also got up and made her way to the bedrolls, next to the fire. Gabrielle quickly joined her. Without a word, Gabrielle snuggled up against Xena and the two fell asleep. It wasn't long before Xena woke up to nature calling, she gently slid herself out from under the beautiful woman sleeping with her.

After finishing her business, she didn't want to wake the girl, so she laid out on her own bedroll only a couple feet away and fell back to sleep.


End file.
